Automatic air control



Aug. 20, 1935. w. HDREW 2,012,037

AUTOMATIC AIR CONTROL Filed oct. 1, 1951 llllll Illllll INVENTOR #MMWVJ/ 25 are,y attained. With the above and'other objects in view, whichPatented Aug. 20,31935 y UNITED STA-TES- BATENT AOFFICE 2,012,037 lAUTQMATIC Ant CONTROL Walter HDDrew, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to TheCleveland Steel Products Company, Cleveland, hio,.a corporation 'of Ohio'Application october 1, 1931, serial No. 566,251 l 1 oranti.. .(01.15a-m This invention relates to oil burning vfurnaizes and moreparticularly to the, fuel distributing units therefor andthe means forsupplying'iair. for mixture with the fuel. I .5 i O ne of the objects ofthe present invention is to provide a compact fuel distributing` unit of1 new and improved'construction. Another object is to provide a fueldistributing unit having a new and improved means for regulatlng andadjusting `the flow of air therethrough, that assists in atomizirig thefuel dis-l tributed thereby. y f c Another objectis to provide an oilburning furnace in which the supply-of air thereto is vauto- 15,matically controlled.

. -Another object is to provide an-oil burning furnace in which thesupply of air thereto is automatically decreased after the initialignition period.

A further Objectis to provide an'oil burning furnace in which a largesupply of air is ad mitted ther/ete during the initial ignition periodand in which the'supply, of air is automatically decreased after:adequate combustion conditions -will be apparent from the followingdetailed' description,. the present invention may be said to consist incertain features of construction and combinations of part's which willbe readily understood by those in the art towhich the inventionappertains. i a

. In the-drawing which illustrates a. suitable embodiment of theinvention, 85 Fig. 1 is a fragmentary vertical section of a furnaceandoil distributing device with .which the control of the presentinvention is incorporated;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the furnace interior;

4t0 ythe air controldevice being shown in broken outline; an'd i Fig. 3is a section taken approximately on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Referring to theaccompanying drawing, in .which like numerals refer to like partsthroughout the several views. the furnace I is provided with atransverse hearth 2 of refractory material near the bottom thereof andan. endless hearth ring 3 lmounted on the hearth 2 adjacent the,

furnace wall.

, to the disc I4 for rotatingthe same.

is supported bythe housing 4 below 'the lower end thereof. Adistributing head 8 is mounted within the housing 4 and is'secured tothe upper end of` the shaft I.A The head 8 is provided with a pluralityof upwardly and outwardly extending 5 radial distributing tubes 9. Thesetubes 9 are in\ communication with the hollow shaftv 'I and terv inmateimmediately above the upperedgeof the housing 4 and slightly inwardly ofthe periphery thereof as shown inFig'.- l A" fan member I0 is i securedto the head 8 and s provided with, blades the hollow shaft 'I andthenceoutwardly'through the distributing tubes. The'fan member draws airfrom below the hearth through the housing 2Q .4, Where the samemixeswith the fuel discharged throughthe tubes 9.-- The atomized fuel isdischarged against-the hearth ring 3 and is ignited, thereby providing acontinuous flame around the 'hearth ring.

In order to regulate the amount of air flowing through the `housing 4 toobtain satisfactory combustion, a shutter arrangement is provided. Asshown in the drawing, the housing 4 is formed with an integral angeIZeXtending radially in- 30 "wardly thereof and having a plurality ofregularly spaced openings I3 therein. These openings are arranged to beclosed by 'a rotatable annular disc".|4 likewise having openings -I5therein,'ar

ranged at times to register with the openings I3 .35

and permit unrestricted ow of air'therethiough. By rotatingthe disc I4,the openings I3 can be partially or completely closed to permit thepropersupply of air. A suitable lever I6 is secured The disc I4 40 issupported from the flange I2 b'ya sleeve I1 surrounding the distributinghead and threaded into the flange I2. The sleeve I 'I is formed with anKcoutwardly extending radial angel which engages the lower surface ofthe annular` disc I4 4 to support the same. i g i In the operation ofoil Yburning furnaces it has been found that considerable time elapses.before the proper and desired heating flame is obtained.

=-. This is due to the fact that the supply of air adel quate for theproper combustion of the fuel when the interior of the'furnace is at thedesired heating temperature isnot adequate for'rapid .rise to thistemperature. As a result considerable time elapses, when the furnace -iscold, fromthe time of initial ignition until the desired heatingtemperature is obtained within the furnace.

The present'invention has to do with means for automatically. admittinga supply of air to the furnace, during the initial fuel ignition period,which is greater than the lsupply necessary when the furnace isoperating at the proper heating temperature, 'and for shutting off thisadditional supply when the interior of the furnace reaches apredetermined temperature.

In order to positively control the air and provide for an automaticincrease or decrease of the air supply in accordance with thetemperature prevailing within the combustion chamber, I provide a meanswhereby the disc I4 is thermostatically operated by means of a heatresponsive unit. Although otherv types of heat responsive units may beemployed, the type here shown lends itself to convenient use of therotatable air control disc I4. chamberv25, and is mounted in the hearth2 with a thin wall exposed to the heat within the furnace. The chamber25 is in communication with an expansible-contractible bellows member 2Ethat is suspended by a bracket 21 from the lower side of the hearth. Oneend of the bellows member 26 is connected through a universal member,such as a ball and socket joint 28, with the operating lever I6 of thedisc I4. The movable end. .of the bellows 26 is guided by the bracket 21and a compression spring 29 may be interposed between the bracket andthe movable end to as sist in the contraction of the bellows 26.l Thebellows and chamber 25 maybe filled with a volatile vfluid or.heatresponsive fluid, so that when the temperature within the furnaceincreases the bellows member 26 will cause the disc AIll to graduallyshut off the supply of air flowing through the inletopenings controlledthereby. This device is adjusted so that when the bellows member 26 iscontracted, such as when the furnace is in inoperative condition, theair supply openings are wide open to permit a maximum supply of airduring the initial ignition and starting period. By using the chamber25, heat responsive means is provided which'can be mounted in the hearthwithout interrupting the continuity of the hearth surface. It is clearlyobvious that other types of heat re- This unit comprises an enclosedsponsive means may be employed to equal advantage.

In the construction shown and described, a means of supplying additionalair over and above the amount necessary for normal operation isprovided, which is automatically controlled by the temperature of thefurnace, and which will automatically shut oi the supply of' additionalair when the furnace temperature reaches a predetermined value but whichwill automatically permit an increase in air supply when the 'temperaJture falls below the said predetermined value.

It is to be understood that the air vcontrol` means shown and describedin connection with Figs. 1, A2 and 3 may be used to equal advantage infurnaces using fuel distributing means ,other than the rotary deviceshown.

The advantages of the air control means described and shown in thedrawing are readily apparent.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular forms ofapparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth,are presented for purposes `of explanation and illustration, and thatvarious modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be madewithout departing from my invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In an oil burning furnace having a combustion chamber, fuel and airdistributing means for distributing a fuel and air mixture into saidcombustion chamber, means operative at all times during operation of thefurnace and independently of the supply of fuelby said first means forregulating the amount of combustion supporting air supplied to saidcombustion chamber, temperature responsive means responsive totemperature conditions within said combustion chamber, and

., said air regulating means'to decrease the supply of air upon a risein combustion chamber temperlature and to increase the supply of airupon La drop in combustion chamber temperature independently of thesupply of fuel.

WALTER H. DREW.

